Opower's board of directors unanimously approved the transaction. CEO Dan Yates gave his nod to the deal, saying: “The combination will provide the industry with the most modern, complete cloud applications for the entire utility value chain, from meter to grid to end-customers. We are excited to join Oracle and to bring even more value to our customers as part of the Oracle Utilities Industry Cloud Platform.”

In a letter to customers (PDF), Yates said the company would not be chewed up by the Oracle machine, in so many words:

As we create synergies with Oracle, we are 100% committed to keeping Opower innovative and nimble, with our own locations, leadership, go-to-market and delivery teams.

It took Leicester City only six seasons following the then-Championship club's purchase by Asian Football Investments to win the Premier League. With Larry's backing, Villa will undoubtedly do it in five. ®